Ross County’s Forest Economy

Chris Bruynis, Ph.D., Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, Ross County

Ross County contains 689 square miles (441,000 acres) of land and is home to 78,000 citizens[1]. There are 165 industries in the county[2], with the median household earning an income of $42,626[1]. Major employers include businesses in the sectors of state and local governments, food services, private hospitals, and paper mills[2].

The land resources of Ross County provide many economic benefits. The county's 1,000 agricultural farms produce cattle and calves, dairy and milk, and agronomic crops, among others[3]. An abundance of wooded acres are also present, providing community support to the county's forest industries. These businesses generate $1.01 billion in industrial output and $54.2 million in taxes[2].

Some of the many contributions Ross County's forests and forest industries provide to the local economy are illustrated in this fact sheet using key figures and statistics. Figures 2–4, describing Ross County's forest resources, were constructed using data from the 2011 forest survey database provided by the United States Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis. Figures 5–8 explain the county's forest industries and were developed from data analyzed using IMPLAN®. Table 1 summarizes the IMPLAN® model for Ross County's economy. (For more information regarding IMPLAN® and the economic impact analyses for Ross County, please contact the first author in the School of Environment and Natural Resources.)

Figure 4. Ross County contains 1.8 billion board feet of sawtimber[5]. The top five species make up 69.6% of the total volume.

Figure 5. Ross County's farmland and forestland production, 2010[2]. This figure does not include harvests from government lands.

Figure 6. Direct economic impact of Ross County's forest industries, 2010[2]. Labor income, value-added, and industrial output are represented on the left Y-axis, and employment is represented on the right Y-axis.

Figure 7. Ross County's forest industry employers by sector, 2010[2]. A (----) indicates less than five employees to prevent potential disclosure of individual company information.

Terminology[5,6]

Direct Economic Impact: The effect generated by the industry of interest in an economic impact analysis. This is measured through employment, value-added, and industrial output produced to meet demand for the manufactured product(s).

Direct Federal Tax Impact: Taxes collected by the United States government. These taxes are generated from labor income, indirect business taxes, households, and corporations associated with the industry of interest.

Direct State and Local Tax Impact: Taxes paid to state, county, and municipal governments. These taxes are generated from labor income, indirect business taxes, households, and corporations associated with the industry of interest.

Employment: The total wage and salary and self-employed jobs in a geographical area.

Indirect Business Taxes: Sales and excise taxes paid by individuals to businesses through normal operations. They do not include taxes on corporate profits and dividends.

Industrial Output: The total value of production measured as the sum of value-added plus the cost of buying goods and services to produce the product(s).

Sawtimber Volume: Net volume in board feet by the International 1/4-inch rule of sawlogs in sawtimber trees on timberland. Gross volume minus the deductions that affect use for lumber equals net volume.

Value-Added: The sum of labor income, interest, profits, and indirect business taxes.

Table 1. Direct industrial contributions within Ross County’s economy, 2010[2]. The IMPLAN® model’s 440 sectors were aggregated into 12 industries by each sector’s 2-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code number. A (----) indicates less than five employees or a value less than $500,000 to prevent potential disclosure of individual company information.

Industry NAICS Description

Employment

Labor Income

Value-Added

Industrial Output

11 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting

1,411

$18,347,662

$26,680,956

$84,041,486

113 Forestry and Logging

103

$3,272,505

$3,197,682

$8,818,197

21 Mining

16

$1,062,167

$1,458,426

$2,333,403

22 Utilities

171

$17,344,439

$60,505,873

$102,827,192

23 Construction

1,349

$33,862,276

$46,644,593

$138,802,714

31–33 Manufacturing

3,120

$247,658,434

$450,257,063

$1,963,662,835

321 Wood Products Manufacturing

56

$3,093,822

$3,373,788

$9,238,548

322 Paper Manufacturing

1,410

$128,225,269

$296,850,052

$993,640,267

337 Wood Furniture Manufacturing

(----)

(----)

(----)

(----)

42 Wholesale Trade

529

$28,484,923

$56,688,279

$75,043,526

44–45 Retail Trade

4,293

$108,459,769

$160,811,834

$244,673,215

48–49 Transportation and Warehousing

707

$34,210,120

$44,912,355

$75,926,802

51–56 Professional Services

4,778

$149,261,891

$513,456,820

$793,073,370

61–72 Educational, Health, and Recreational Services

7,670

$311,412,614

$357,570,087

$606,859,004

81 Other Services

1,495

$39,091,851

$40,488,468

$89,455,176

92 Government and non-NAICS Industries

5,879

$283,599,725

$320,218,001

$433,919,343

Forest Industries

1,569

$134,591,596

$303,421,522

$1,011,697,012

Total

31,419

$1,272,795,872

$2,079,692,756

$4,610,618,065

References

[1] United States Census. 2010. United States census quick facts. quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/39/39141.html.

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